Rabbi Stephen Lewis Fuchs
Every Day is Earth Day: Jewish Holidays and Environmental Justice
Since 1970, the United States has celebrated Earth Day every April. By contrast, ancient Jewish celebrations throughout the year remind us of our responsibility to safeguard the fragile planet God has entrusted to our care. Almost all of our Jewish observances reflect environmental concerns.
The Three H's of Jewish Life: Head, Heart, and Hands
I envisioned an investigator examining our homes and our lifestyles to determine whether enough about us would convince a jury that we were indeed Jews. What would they look for? Would they deem us Jewish?
Hope: The Silver Lining in a Very Dark Cloud
My search for “silver linings” in no way minimizes the toll in suffering, pain, loss, and inconvenience the pandemic is exacting from our lives; I fervently pray it will end soon. Still, I believe that the secret to Jewish survival despite all the hardships and tragedy history has imposed on us is our ability to cling to the hope that things will get better.
How Shavuot is a Perfect Example of Reform Jewish Thinking
One of the great examples of Reform Jewish thinking, some 2,000 years before there was anything called Reform Judaism, regards the Festival of Shavuot. In the Torah, Shavuot is strictly an agricultural holiday, a celebration of both the first summer fruits and the barley harvest (Leviticus 23:15-22). Our ingenious rabbinic
Rising Anti-Semitism in Germany: An On-the-Ground Assessment
wife and I are in Germany, so I wasn’t surprised that a few people sent me “The New German Anti-Semitism,” a story in a recent edition of the New York Times Magazine.
